Australia's slow flower movement is a late bloomer compared to the global trend, but a new collaboration of micro-farmers hopes to encourage consumers to support the 'grown not flown' philosophy.

Flower enthusiast Danielle White founded Consortium Botanicus to bring together small-scale growers in the Daylesford region of Victoria, but a proliferation of farmers across the country means the group has recently expanded into a national body.

"There are hundreds of micro flower farms in the start-up phase and there are a few hundred more in the established phase across Australia," she said.

"There's a lot off the radar and a lot of beginning farmers building their knowledge, planting and trialling.

"We feel like we're on the cusp of big growth, and it's an exciting time for the slow flower movement."

Ms White said the slow flower movement aimed to encourage small-scale, sustainable farming practices, and for consumers to buy locally.

"We grow from the soil up. We care about the environment and sustainability," she said.

"We want to supply local to keep our flower miles down, and it also really means 'slow' in terms of seasonality.

"There's a great demand for flowers of all shapes and sizes on demand, but we're educating people to look at what's in season and what it means to choose flowers that are out of season and flown in from other countries, and are often laden with chemicals and poor ethics."

Inspired by social media

The slow flower movement has been popular in the UK and US for several years, and Ms White partly credits American grower Erin Benzakein for spreading the 'grown not flown' message to her hundreds of thousands of social media followers.